Donald Trump launches 2020 open election for foreign spies

Anchor George Stephanopoulos raised the warning of FBI director Christopher Wray that anyone who has received incriminating information from a foreign power should phone the office.

"It's not an interference, they have information, I think I would accept it, if I thought there was something wrong, maybe I would contact the FBI." if I thought there was something wrong, "said the president.

Once again, Trump had said a few moments earlier: "I do not think of all my life that I've ever called the FBI."

New calls for dismissal

The Trump interview had the immediate political effect of attracting more Democrat appeals to the president's dismissal – and making the life of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi more difficult. "It's sad past, it's frustration of the past, it's criminal, it's criminal, and we have to hold this president accountable," said the Democratic representative. Brenda Lawrence, D-Michigan, to CNN's Erin Burnett.

"If we feel we need to start this process," said Lawrence, one of the Democratic House's increasingly minority members, calling for more forceful action against Trump, referring to the impeachment.

It would not be an exaggeration to claim that the President's remarks could themselves be part of a dismissal procedure, if things went that far.

Candidates for the presidential election of the Democratic Party in 2020 competed to address the subject of the impeachment debate, suggesting the growing weight of the argument, even though the investigation into the Russia is not a dominant problem in 2020.

"The #MuellerReport made it clear: a foreign government attacked our 2016 elections to support Trump, the latter praised this help, and Trump obstructed the investigation," said the senator. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mbadachusetts.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said that he was not shocked since he thought Trump was not respecting the Constitution.

"I think the House should open an imputation inquiry," Sanders told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

And Senator Kamala Harris of California – the former Attorney General of the State – tweeted: "China is listening.Russia is listening.North Korea is listening.Let us tell the truth: this president is a threat to national security. "

All that is needed

But the political consequences of Trump's statements on Wednesday may not be very important in comparison to the intelligence and national security issues they will sow.

The president not only risked the integrity of the 2020 vote, he reinforced the already strong impression that he would do whatever is necessary – no matter what – for to win. Since he's got the power of the presidency, it's a troubling thought.

Given this reality, any foreign entity that will help it in 2020 could expect all sorts of unspecified accommodations, whether in politics or otherwise – one of the reasons why Trump's private meetings with Putin worry so much his opponents.

If he takes the land of a foreign power, the president could then place himself in a dangerous and compromised position.

While US intelligence agencies – and even the White House – say they are doing everything in their power to protect the elections, the most powerful man in the world has said he does not care about anything and that he would be ready to undermine his efforts.

And it may be unimportant that any dirt on opponents is true, as Russian efforts in 2016 have shown that rumors and misinformation can be as powerful as authentic information.

Trump's shot at Wray will also spark new speculation about the position of the president's second FBI director.

There was no immediate comment from the office.

But will it matter?

The lesson from Trump's two years of power is that such brilliant comments will do nothing to weaken the rigid support base of the GOP that supports his presidency.

On the evidence of past remedies, one can expect Republican senators to dodge and protect themselves. Conservative experts will deny that he did something wrong. And his White House could accuse journalists of taking him out of context or deny the recorded evidence that would tell him.

All of Trump's attacks end in the same way, with his blistering critics and his unrepentant and unrepentant president, reinforcing his image of flamethrower torching the structures of Washington's governance, as he had promised to His fans.

Trump knows what he's doing. He makes such inflammatory statements aware that they will unleash a media storm that will blow up Washington's heads, further divide the country and shake the political base it needs to engage en mbade in 2020.

At present, it is almost as if Trump had the firm intention of showing that in the turbulent political era that it engendered, there is no enforceable standard in terms of acceptable minimum public behavior. That his power can not be limited and that the reality is such that he says it. Yet another presidential constraint erased and another outrage will soon be there.

The cost for democracy

This does not mean that there will be no repercussion of the president's interview. In the real world, there will be political, practical and intelligence implications.

After all, he invites anyone to take part in the process that ultimately brings American democracy to the fore. If the elections are not fair, public confidence in those to whom it gives power can not be guaranteed and the system will be seriously compromised.

Trump's comments represented a particular repudiation of special advocate Robert Mueller, who, even in his taciturn manner, had pbadionately pleaded for Americans to protect their democracy.

At the end of his press conference last month, Mueller strove again to get his message across with the final act of his mission: "The systematic efforts to interfere in our election have been multiple, and this allegation deserves the attention of every American. "

Trump gave his answer on Wednesday, challenging the central pillar of the Mueller case, arguing in fact that targeting an opponent by a foreign spying operation is acceptable.

"It's called oppo research," Trump told ABC.

Adding an insult to injury, the president also blatantly distorted Mueller's account of his team's many encounters with the Russians during the 2016 campaign: "In fact, it is reported that we have actually pushed back your Russian friends, that we have rejected them – we have them. "

Mueller has not found any conspiracy between the Trump team and Russia. But he wrote in the report that "the campaign hoped that information stolen and published through Russian efforts would benefit voters."

The last question raised by the special council's warning of departure and Trump's response is whether Mueller's plea will resonate or whether another presidential retainer will be dissolved in plain sight.